Before the BAS Agent law changed, anyone could call themselves a bookkeeper – and often anyone did! One software course does not an expert make. Bookkeeping is a skill and an art, based on fundamental understanding and application of accounting principles. Business owners have often been hoodwinked by bookkeepers who read a how-to book and then set up shop. And when that unreliable and untrained bookkeeper left the accounts in a state of disaster? Well, then the owner was not only on the hook for the damage done, but had to call in an actual expert to fix the mess. And that equals double the stress, double the time, and of course, double the expense. And there you have it – the financial and emotional cost of using an un-registered bookkeeper can be huge!